


Blood-red eyes

by Peppermint__Cat



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, Color Blindness, I Don't Even Know, M/M, One Shot, Pining, weird sharingan powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint__Cat/pseuds/Peppermint__Cat
Summary: "I've heard this rumor. Is it really true, that the Uchihas are...," he gulped, "that you are colorblind?''Everyone in this world had a soulmate, but only the Uchiha clan with their sharingan could find their significant other. Madara didn't really care about his soulmate. He only wanted to meet them once, so he would finally be able to see the colors of this world.
Relationships: Senju Hashirama/ Uzumaki Mito (implied), Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara
Comments: 14
Kudos: 119





	Blood-red eyes

Red.

The sharingan of his father was red. Of course he could not proof that. That was just, what he had heard from others. Red was supposedly the color of blood. He couldn't be sure of this either, since he had never seen red before, or any other color to be honest. He didn't even know, whether every sharingan was red or just his father's. He had just heard, that the eyes of Tajima Uchiha, known for his powerful genjutsu, were red.

 _Don't get lost in his crimson eyes or you will drown in the sea of blood._ These were the exact words, which their enemies had screamed during battle.

But color was still a weird concept for the young Madara Uchiha. He couldn't wrap his head around it. The monochrome world around him was supposed to be full of different shades and nuances, yet he couldn't find a single clue about them. He had so many unanswerd questions.

How could two things so different from each other like eyes and blood even be the same color?  
How could something change its color?

It frustrated him immensely to be so clueless. It reminded him, that he was still young. Everytime he asked one of the few adults, who could see them, he got a meaningless answer. _You cannot explain color,_ _Madara. You have to experience it._

Thanks for nothing.

How much he would give to finally solve all this mystery, but he knew, it wasn't easy for the Uchihan kind to get the ability to see all the colors, that supposedly surrounded all of them. Many Uchihan shinobi would forever live an a world painted in shades of gray. This was the case because of their eyes, because of the sharingan.

"Madara, can I ask you a question," Hashirama said, curiosity shimmering in his dark pupils. What color would they be? Both boys were sitting beside the river, that divided the Senju from the Uchihan territory. They had often met here in secret. They knew they couldn't be seen together. So this riverside was their own little sanctuary, because this area wasn't patrolled frequently by both clans. A place, where they could just be themselves without the constant fear of being discovered.

"Go ahead," Madara encouraged, while standing up and flinging a stone above the water in the perfect angle. It skipped three times, but didn't reach the other side.

"But first you have to promise me, you won't laugh." Hashirama quickly added. Madara just nodded, giving the reassurance without saying it outright. He looked around for another stone, that was flat enough to bounce on top of the river, if thrown right. Hashirama didn't speak immediately, but thought about how to articulate his question. There were wrinkles on his young forhead showing his thinking process. "I've heard this rumor. Is it really true, that the Uchihas are," he gulped, "that you are colorblind?''

Madara stopped his search and looked at his friend. Of course. Madara had told Hashirama about his heritage during their last meeting. He had wanted to be honest with the best friend he ever had. His father probably would have decapitated him for revealing this information to an outsider, but he somehow knew, he could trust Hashirama. To his pleasent surprise Hashirama had felt the same way and wanted to reveal his Senju upbringing at the same time. It was rather obvious the more you thought about it, so both felt stupid for not realizing it before. Despite their lineage they still wanted to remain friends. They wanted to bring peace to their clans, when they would be grown-ups after all. But that also meant... Hashirama's eyes were normal. He could see colors. Madara often forgot, that only the Uchiha clan was burdened by their kekkei genkai this way.

"Please answer me, Madara. Is it really true?" Hashirama whined. Madara's long pause was making him even more nervous. He appeared to be at least two years younger with his widened eyes. Izuna often looked at him like that.

"I am colorblind, but not every Uchiha is."

"What? You really just see everything in black, white and gray?" Why did Hashirama sound so shocked? Wasn't this a well known fact about the Uchiha? Maybe not. Maybe it was just a myth to them. His clan was pretty secretive about their abilities (and weaknesses). "I can't believe, that this is actually true, Madara. You're not kidding me, right? What color is my hair?"

"I just said-How am I supposed to tell?" Madara answered rather rudely. What answer would Hashirama expect from him? Did he think Madara was playing a joke on him? His hair was gray to him, not as dark as Izuna's hair, but every color had something called a dark shade, hadn't they? He didn't know. Colors were weird.

"Maybe some kind of blue?" Madara sighed, playing along and answering Hashirama's question nonetheless. He knew the sky was supposed to be blue. The color, that would symbolize freedom, had to fit Hashirma's lighthearted nature, Madara concluded.

"You cannot have blue hair."

"Is that so?"

"I've certainly never met someone with that hair color. So maybe it's possible. I know of some shinobi that have red hair, but blue hair... that sounds unnatural," Hashirama reasoned.

"But having hair as red as blood doesn't?" Red like his father's sharingan. Red was truly an odd color.

"Not exactly like blood. Their hair is a little lighter and with a pinkish hue to it." Now Madara was completely lost.

"Now you're just making stuff up"

"No, it's true!" Hashirama retorted. "I swear. They have red hair... Mine is brown by the way."

"Like dirt?" Madara quickly teased with a sly smirk without a second thought.

"You are so mean sometimes, Madara!" Hashirama pouted. A dark atmosphere looming over his head.

Madara hadn't expected this reaction. Had he gone too far? Hashirama had started with this color nonesense, not believing him at first. It was a joke, but Madara still felt bad about his last comment. Hashirama seemed a little bit hurt. He bit his lip, thinking, whether he should apologize. He didn't find the right words.

"For supposedly not seeing any color you know a lot about them," Hashirama remarked thoughtfully, breaking the deafening silence between them.

"Well, adults told me a lot, when I was younger. Green like grass, yellow like the sun." Madara recalled, still feeling blue as ironic as that was. "But many of their answers now are just unhelpful and plain stupid."

"Adults are like that sometimes," Hashirama joked, full of positivity again. "But how can they see them anyway?"

"There is a way for us to gain this ability, but it is complicated. Maybe I'll tell you about it next time." It was getting late. The contrasts became blurred. They would have to go home soon, so no one would get suspicious.

"I'll look forward to it." Hashirama stood up as well. With a giant smile on his face he streched his right arm towards his Uchihan friend. He opened his hand to show a thin and flat stone perfect for skipping.

Normally, Madara would have taken it without a second thought, but he still felt a weight on his heart because of the thoughtless remark he had made. He gulped down his pride for once.

"Hashirama, what I said-"

"Forget it, Madara," Hashirama interrupted him, still grinning without any malice. "I know it wasn't meant like that. Just take the stone."

Madara sighed with relief. Hashirama wasn't angry at him. He still wanted to be his friend. He accepted the stone and with it Hashirama's forgiveness. The Senju jumped to the other side of the river and looked back laughing from ear to ear, showing off another stone in his left hand. Hashirama always found the best ones. Madara threw his stone horizontally and catched the Hashirama's shortly after. This time his rock skipped four times and reached the other side easily, so Hashirama could catch his as well. He was proud of that.

"See you in three days!" Hashirama yelled, after their little ritual was done. Then the Senju turned around and disappeared into the gray forest behind him.

Madara also made his way home as quickly as possible.

  
_______

The Uchiha lived in a world of duality, lost between black and white, torn between love and hate. It was the source of their power, but also their greatest weakness. The sharingan represented all of that.

It was activated by a tremendous loss, by the feeling of absolute despair, but it also could bring you the greatest joy immaginable. You could see, what no one else was capable of. You could find, what everyone had forgotten about. The world, lifeless and monochrome, would turn upside down, when the sharingan saw _them_. Their other half, their soulmate. Their chakras would find eachother and the Uchiha would finally see through different eyes. If an Uchiha, who already had their sharingan, saw their soulmate, their gray world would turn colorful and change forever.

It was said, before a child was born, their chakra would be split in half and put into another human. Those two were connected for a lifetime. Even if they didn't find eachother in this realm, they would become one in the next. The world was large after all. You were extremely lucky, when you found your soulmate, gained this gift of happiness and companionship. The Uchiha clan strongly hold on to the belief, that everyone had another half somewhere, but only their sharingan was able to reveal them to its user. Therefore, many other clans had forgotten about their existence or thought of them as nothing but a legend of older times.

Madara didn't thought about his soulmate as much as he probably should. He just wanted to meet them once, because then he would finally see those mysterious colors, that no one could explain to him. That was the only reason. If they weren't an Uchiha themself, they probably wouldn't even know about the existance of soulmates and they would never have to see eachother after that. They wouldn't even need to talk. One single glance was enough for Madara.

He knew, how those couples acted. They were a few Uchihas, who were lucky enough to have a different Uchiha as their soulmate. All lovey-dovey all the time, as if no one was around them. It was disturbing. He didn't need to have that. He had his brother, his father and even Hashirama to care about. He would have a lot of responsibility as next leader of his clan, so he shouldn't bother with a partner, he didn't even know. It would only distract him.

Izuna came into his room and disrupted Madara's long chain of thoughts. He hadn't seen him for two days, he noticed now.

"Father wants to talk to you immediately" his little brother said in a cold voice. He didn't even look at him, so Madara knew instantely something was very off. Without saying another word, he ran out of the room, afraid of what might happen, if he let Tajima Uchiha wait too long.

It was an early evening. The room was only lit by a single candle. His father was sitting in front of it, throwing a giant shadow on the wall behind him. He didn't acknowlege him, when he entered the room. Quietly Madara took the empty place in front of him. Eyes to the ground, waiting for his father to talk.

"Madara, you know of the role you were born to fulfill? " Tajima said in a tone, that made Madara's whole body tense. He forgot to breath for a second before answering.

"Yes, father." He didn't like, where this conversation was going.

"Then tell me, my son, why do have have to hear, that you spend your free time with a Senju brat!" Madara's heart stopped. His father was angry. No, he was furious. He would have hit him, if he weren't his beloved child.

"How..," Madara whispered without realizing it, still totally shocked.

"That is your answer? How? You should be begging for forgiveness for your insolent actions!" Tajima's voice got louder. Madara could see a vein of anger on his father's temple. Tajima never acted out, never lost his cool in battle. To see him like this honestly scared him.

"I am so, so sorry," Madara stammered, lowering his head even more. "I-I swear I won't do it again. Please forgive me, father." _Please, forgive me, Hashirama_ he added in his mind.

Tajima eyed his oldest son skeptically. His stare was burning holes into Madara's skin, but he kept his gaze locked onto the dark floor.

"You asked how. I ordered Izuna to follow you around. I got suspicious of your frequent disappearences." His father spit these words out, full of disappointment. It hurt more than any physical wound he ever had.

"I swear. My loyalty lies with this clan."

"Prove it, Madara. I want his head."

His blood felt like burning ice and freezing fire, hot and cold. He should kill Hashirama? He couldn't do that, could he? Not Hashirama, every Senju but Hashirama! He shook his head, now looking into his father's dark eyes. Not a single sign of mercy. _Red like blood._

"Father-"

"There is nothing left to say, Madara. I know you agreed to meet him tomorrow." _See you in three days!_ " Izuna and I will be following you. Do you understand?"

Madara felt lost. He didn't know, what to do. His mouth was dry, so his voice was raw and meek, when he answered.

"Yes, father."

\--------

The sun was bright this morning. The usual contrasts of the day seemed to wash together into a light grey and white. The shadows were short and nearly transparent. It made him somehow uncomfortable. He felt visible as if there was no place to hide. This wasn't the suitable weather for what was about to happen. He clutched the flat stone in his pocket tightly. He hoped his plan would work, hoped there wouldn't be a bloodbath today.

He reached the river. He was nervous. He was tempted to look back for his father and Izuna, but decided against it. He needed to focus.

His heart skipped a beat. Hashirama was walking slowly out of the forest, his expression more serious than usual. Before he could come any closer, Madara spoke up.

"I know it's right off the bat, but how about we just skip stones instead of exchanging greetings?"

Hashirama nodded, accepting his offer. They threw their rocks a the same time. He catched Hashirama's with ease. _Please read it, Hashirama!_

He looked at the stone in his hands and his eyes widened.

 _Trap! Scram!_ was written on it, black on gray, but that meant...

His muscles reacted on their own. He turned around and he tried to retreat to the trees behind him. Izuna and his father ran into the open. From the corner of his eyes he saw two other people quickly charging out of the forest on the other side.

"Stop!" Madara and Hashirama screamed at the same time, but it was too late. Madara heard metal clash.

Madara analyzed the two shinobi facing of against his family. One older man and a younger boy, about the same age as Izuna. Were they Hashirama's father and brother? Both adults threw a kunai at their younger enemy.

Izuna! He needed to protect Izuna!

Reflexively he tossed the stone, that was still in his hand, to block the projectile. Hashirama had done the same to save the other boy from at least an ugly scar.

Both quickly positioned themselves in front of their brothers. The battle came to a quick halt. Madara was facing Hashirama.

"I won't forgive anyone, who hurts my brother. No matter, who they are!"

"The same goes for me!"

Madara felt his father's eyes on his back. It was time to make a choice between the Senju and his family. He had to give something up, had to choose a side. It was time to end this childish behaviour.

"Hey, Hashirama.." he began.

"What is it?" Hashirama answered immediately, before he even finished his sentence. He knew this situation was dire. He was just as tense as he was.

"Maybe all these plans, we made together, were just a pipe dream of ours."

"Madara..." Hashirma looked shocked, hurt. Madara knew, he couldn't forgive him as easily as so many other times before. This had hurt him on a different level, but that was okay. Madara didn't want to be forgiven. He had chosen his clan, his family.

"It might have been brave, but it was nothing more than fun." _Let me go, Hashirama._

"Three against three. Madara, think we can take them?" His father's voice was calculated, but the undertone of satisfaction resonated within. Madara had made the right choice.

"No, Hashirama is stronger than me. If we fight, we'll lose."

"That's quite impressive. Then let's retreat."

Madara turned around, following his father's command. His last glance into Hashirama's dark eyes made something in him break a little. Million small pieces of a broken dream cut into his soul. He knew, he had lost his friend forever. He felt an unusual chakra flow in his eyes. It felt hot and wrong, but somehow right at the same time. He suddenly realized, what that meant.

He stood still for a second. He looked into the clear water under his feet. His eyes had the typical sharingan pattern. It made him angry. He was an Uchiha! Why had Hashirama's loss such an effect on him?

"Madara, you cannot say, you have already given up!" Hashirama's voice behind him revealed nothing but desperate anger. To be honest, it wasn't an emotion he associated with his former friend.

"I wish it wasn't like this, but you are a Senju. My brother's were murdered by your kind. So were your brothers killed by the Uchiha. Our next meeting will be on the battlefield, Hashirama Senju!" Madara needed to end this here and now.

"Because I am... Madara Uchiha!" He moved his head to look a his friend one last time.

Suddenly, the young sharingan in his eyes burned. His world stopped moving. It changed. His vision of his surroundings was shattered in the span of a second.

Everything was so different and yet the same. It was too overwhelming.

Madara's eyes were locked on Hashirama's. The looked determined, teary -but most importantly- not gray. Nothing was gray anymore.

Hashirama's hair... was that called brown? His eyes had the same color. Everything about him looked different. He knew, what that meant. The boy in front of him was his soulmate. Hashirama Senju was his fricking soulmate! That couldn't be true. He didn't want this!

Everything fell into place. His trust beyond the borders of his clan, the pain of seperation. He felt like this, because Hashirama was special, he was his other half.

"Father, look! Madara's eyes!" Izuna's happy remark made him snap back into reality. He blocked out all the confusion, all his anger to replace it with an cold rationality. He had made his choice.

"Later" his voice was hollow. He broke the staring contest with Hashirama and continued to walk away. He wanted nothing more than get away from here, from _him_.

Hashirama didn't try to stop him. He was completely unaware of the special bond they shared.

Madara followed his father and brother into the Forest. No one dared to speak. He didn't say a single word about his new scope of vision, about the colors he could now see. He didn't want them anymore. He wanted his monochrome world back.

He didn't tell anyone that Hashirama was his soulmate. Not when Konoha was founded, not when Hashirama married a woman of the Uzumaki clan, not when he left the village, not when he was presumably killed by the Senju's very own hands. His lips remained sealed for the rest of his long life.

But even during his final breaths Madara would remember this bright day on the river. It was the day, that was tarnished by the Uchihan duality he had to live by. He had gained his sharingan, his own pair of blood-red eyes, and the ability to solve the enigma of color, but for what price?

Even now he had this aching feeling in his chest. He knew, he had lost something even more important on that fateful day, something no color in this world would ever be able to paint over.

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I was working on the next chapter for my other fic ( a cruel world, check it out if you want xD), but then I had this tragic soulmate idea and it kept nagging at me. I needed to write this little thing, before I could do anything else.
> 
> So anyway... thank you for reading this little cliché story.
> 
> I am happy about kudos and feedback in the comments <3
> 
> ps: I am not a native English speaker, so please have mercy :')


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